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A Hatton-Brown Publication
Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. Street Address: 225 Hanrick Street Montgomery, AL 36104-3317 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2268 Montgomery, AL 36102-2268 Telephone: 334.834.1170 FAX: 334.834.4525
Volume 44 • Number 9 • November 2019 Founded in 1976 • Our 458th Consecutive Issue
Publisher: David H. Ramsey Chief Operating Officer: Dianne C. Sullivan Editor-in-Chief: Rich Donnell Senior Editor: Dan Shell Senior Associate Editor: David Abbott Senior Associate Editor: Jessica Johnson Associate Editor: Patrick Dunning Publisher/Editor Emeritus: David (DK) Knight Art Director/Prod. Manager: Cindy Segrest Ad Production Coordinator: Patti Campbell Circulation Director: Rhonda Thomas Online Content/Marketing: Jacqlyn Kirkland Classified Advertising: Bridget DeVane • 334.699.7837 800.669.5613 • bdevane7@hotmail.com Advertising Sales Representatives: Southern USA Randy Reagor P.O. Box 2268 Montgomery, AL 36102-2268 904.393.7968 • FAX: 334.834.4525 E-mail: reagor@bellsouth.net
Renew or subscribe on the web: www.timberprocessing.com
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ISSUES
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NEWSFEED
George Varn, Sr. Is Looking Good SmartLam’s Aggressive CLT Push
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VARN WOOD PRODUCTS
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SECOND LOOK
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BIEWER LUMBER
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Taking It To Another Level
More Photos Of LaSalle Lumber
Red Pine Is Still A Priority
DRY KILN TECHNOLOGIES
Several Companies Step Forward
AT LARGE
New Lab At Oregon State University
COVER: Varn Wood Products in Hoboken, Ga. has installed a new profiling canter line and done a lot of other things, too. Story begins on PAGE 12. (David Abbott photo.)
Midwest USA, Eastern Canada John Simmons 32 Foster Cres. Whitby, Ontario, Canada L1R 1W1 905.666.0258 • FAX: 905.666.0778 E-mail: jsimmons@idirect.com
VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.timberprocessing.com Member Verified Audit Circulation
Western USA, Western Canada Tim Shaddick 4056 West 10th Avenue Vancouver BC Canada V6L 1Z1 604.910.1826 • FAX: 604.264.1367 E-mail: tootall1@shaw.ca Kevin Cook 604.619.1777 E-mail: lordkevincook@gmail.com
International Murray Brett 58 Aldea de las Cuevas, Buzon 60 03759 Benidoleig (Alicante), Spain Tel: +34 96 640 4165 • + 34 96 640 4048 E-mail: murray.brett@abasol.net
Timber Processing (ISSN 0885-906X, USPS 395-850) is published 10 times annually (January/February and July/August issues are combined) by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc., 225 Hanrick St., Montgomery, AL 36104. Subscription Information—TP is free to qualified owners, operators, managers, purchasing agents, supervisors, foremen and other key personnel at sawmills, pallet plants, chip mills, treating plants, specialty plants, lumber finishing operations, corporate industrial woodlands officials and machinery manufacturers and distributors in the U.S. All non-qualified U.S. Subscriptions are $55 annually: $65 in Canada; $95 (Airmail) in all other countries (U.S. Funds). Single copies, $5 each; special issues, $20 (U.S. funds). Subscription Inquiries— TOLL-FREE: 800-669-5613; Fax 888-611-4525. Go to www.timberprocessing.com and click on the subscribe button to subscribe/renew via the web. All advertisements for Timber Processing magazine are accepted and published by Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. with the understanding that the advertiser and/or advertising agency are authorized to publish the entire contents and subject matter thereof. The advertiser and/or advertising agency will defend, indemnify and hold any claims or lawsuits for libel violations or right of privacy or publicity, plagiarism, copyright or trademark infringement and any other claims or lawsuits that may arise out of publication of such advertisement. Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. neither endorse nor makes any representation or guarantee as to the quality of goods and services advertised in Timber Processing. Hatton-Brown Publishers, Inc. reserves the right to reject any advertisement which it deems inappropriate. Copyright ® 2019. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. Periodicals postage paid at Montgomery, Ala. and at additional mailing offices. Printed in U.S.A.
Postmaster: Please send address changes to Timber Processing, P.O. Box 2419, Montgomery, Alabama 36102-2419 Other Hatton-Brown publications: Timber Harvesting • Southern Loggin’ Times Wood Bioenergy • Panel World • Power Equipment Trade
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THEISSUES
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David Abbott Senior Associate Editor
99 YEARS AND COUNTING
“G 22
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ee, ain’t it funny how time slips away,” Willie Nelson sings in what is probably one of the great American songwriter’s less well remembered gems. Willie is getting on up there— 86 this year; he released a new song in 2018 with the lyrics: “I Woke Up Still Not Dead Again Today.” But even the Red Headed Stranger has a long road ahead before he’ll have anything on George Varn, Sr. of Varn Wood Products in Hoboken, Ga. Mr. Varn will turn 99 in December. Varn Wood Products was first featured in a Timber Processing article 40 years ago. That June 1979 article focused on the mill’s use of a Chip-N-Saw to process small di2005 1979 ameter, low-grade 2019 pulpwood. Another article on the Varn operation followed 26 years later, in 2005. The news then was that the Chip-N-Saw had now become the large log side while a Cone small log processor handled even smaller stems. Now, 14 years after that, Timber Processing has returned to Varn. The Cone SLP is still working on the small log side, but the Chip-N-Saw from the ’79 article has been replaced by a Cone Omega profiling canter. George Varn, Sr. has been on hand for all three articles, just as he was closely involved with the mill’s startup 51 years ago. The word “naval” had a big role in his life. During World War II, Varn, who had graduated in 1942 from Harvard (yes, Harvard), had served in Naval intelligence during World War II. When he came back home in 1945, he joined the family’s naval stores business. In ’68, he and his cousins, responding to declining domestic turpentine markets, decided to put in a chip mill that quickly evolved into a sawmill. Varn has helped guide that evolution for five decades. On a personal note, I see a number of parallels. Mr. Varn was born in 1920; my grandfather, Elzie Crace, was born in 1920; and like Mr. Varn, he was a World War II veteran. I was less than a year-old when the first article on Varn came out. The year the second article came out, 2005, I came to work here. When the Varn wood products operation hit its 50th anniversary last year, I hit my 40th birthday. George Varn was 84 when our editor-in-chief, Rich Donnell, wrote the article in ’05. He had been closely involved with Cone Machinery in developing the small log processor for stems of 6.5 in. diameter or less for the 2x4 market. Though he says he hasn’t done anything directly in the mill in 10 years, he still takes part in weekly management meetings every Friday, usually via skype from his office in Jacksonville, an hour and a half drive from the mill, and he still visits the mill in person every few weeks; he was there for my visit in September. George Varn, Jr. says it took a while to convince his dad to stop driving, and I don’t doubt it. I was struck by how physically robust he is, and even more impressed by his intellectual vitality. Does George, Sr. know the secret to longevity? “I can’t tell you,” he admits. “If I knew what it was, I believe I could sell it. I just have approached each day and they have added up. I just kept going and TP I’m still here.” Contact David Abbott, ph: 334-834-1170; fax 334-834-4525; e-mail: david@hattonbrown.com TIMBER PROCESSING
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NEWSFEED SMARTLAM RELAUNCHES, PURCHASES DOTHAN MILL Cross-laminated timber producer SmartLam reports it has expanded as SmartLam North America under new leadership and investment from Brian Fehr, Erik Munck and SmartLam founder Casey Malmquist. SmartLam NA goes for greater heights. SmartLam North America has established its Northeast, West Coast, and headquarters in Columbia timber-rich Southeast. The Falls, Mont., and reports it combined operational facilihas acquired the state-of-the- ties will allow the company to art, formerly IB XLam CLT produce more than 17.2 milfacility, which started up last lion cubic feet of annual CLT year in Dothan, Ala. With production. two operational production The company states, facilities in Montana and Al“SmartLam North America abama, SmartLam North will leverage its proprietary America reports it will imdesign, engineering, project mediately lead the industry management, project delivery with a combined capacity of model with its expansive, 6 million cubic feet of annual modern, and fully automated, CLT production. state-of-the-art manufacturing The company has also facilities to offer the full commenced planning for adrange of mass timber soluditional CLT manufacturing tions needed for a comprefacilities strategically located hensive and integrated cusin major wood baskets from tomer experience.” coast to coast. It aims to open The company adds, three more locations by 2022, “SmartLam North America is targeting new plants in the dedicated to sustainable for-
est management, supporting climate and carbon-friendly building materials, and providing innovative construction solutions via extensive geographic distribution through regional production plants.” CLT has rapidly gained traction within the past decade in North America among builders, engineers and architects because it is extremely durable, costeffective, compliant with current building codes, and incredibly sustainable. It also vastly improves the speed of build and allows builders to construct and complete projects faster, with a fraction of the labor, using the only renewable building material, according to SmartLam. Fehr has spent more than 40 years on the timber supply side of the market, including co-founding BID, a sawmill maintenance and construction firm that transformed in recent years, following acquisitions of several sawmill equipment companies, into a
turnkey supplier of sawmills, including several that have been built in recent years and that are currently being built in the Southeast U.S. Munck brings 30 years of experience in the engineered wood product sector. Malmquist’s 40-year career has been spent on the market side of the building industry. He was a co-founder of SmartLam in 2012, the same year the company became the first producer of CLT in the U.S. “We are thrilled to launch SmartLam North America to evolve the role that mass timber products has in transforming the building industry, and to ensure that North America plays a dominant role in the movement,” Malmquist says. “Mass timber just got a whole lot stronger. Combining SmartLam’s historic presence in the mass timber market, an accomplished leader like Brian Fehr, and a significant investment in the enterprise, we welcome the work that needs to be done in solidifying North America’s place in the global mass timber market.”
ation in our state.” Katerra’s state-of-the-art CLT facility reflects the company’s technology-first ap-
proach, incorporating advanced geometric and biometric scanning of lamstock, an on-site kiln for precise mois-
ture control and artificial intelligence to further improve safety and reduce waste. “CLT perfectly embodies Katerra’s guiding principles for product development—it is technologically advanced, sustainable, and offers meaningful cost and time reductions,” says Michael Marks, CEO and co-founder of Katerra. “We have invested in creating the largest capacity CLT factory in North America because we believe deeply in the potential of CLT and want to see this great material advance to the mainstream.” Katerra’s new CLT factory is 270,000 sq. ft. and occupies 29 acres with easy access to rail lines and interstate high-
KATERRA OPENS SPOKANE FACILITY Katerra hosted a grand opening of its cross-laminated timber (CLT) factory in Spokane, Wash. in September. “This is just one example of how we can create jobs, transition to a cleaner economy and build new infrastructure with a lower carbon footprint through innovation,” Governor Jay Inslee said. “Like we lead in so many other ways, Washington will now lead the nation in the manufacture of cross-laminated timber for buildings. This is a leap forward for sustainable construction and job cre6
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Katerra’s CLT factory opening, left to right in the foreground: Jason Herman, general manager of Katerra’s CLT factory, Governor Jay Inslee, Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, Senator Maria Cantwell, and Matt Ryan, head of manufacturing for Katerra
TIMBER PROCESSING
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NEWSFEED
Hoisting CLT panel
Lumber handling ahead of CLT mill
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ways. At full operation, the factory will employ 105. The first project constructed with CLT panels from the new Katerra factory is the Catalyst building, located in Spokane’s University District. The 159,000 square foot office building will be the first CLT commercial building in Washington. Built as a partnership between McKinstry, Avista, Katerra, Michael Green Architecture and Eastern Washington University, Catalyst will open in time to host Eastern Washington University classes in Fall 2020. At full capacity the factory will produce 185,000 m3 or the equivalent to 13MMSF of 5-ply panels annually on a two-shift, five-days a week operation. USNR provided the major equipment including the press, which can handle 12 ft. x 60 ft. panels. The pro-
cess applies 320 ft. of adhesive per minute.
ENVIVA PLANS MILL IN ALABAMA Enviva expects to invest $175 million to construct a wood pellet production plant in Sumter County, Ala. The proposed facility, to be located at the Port of Epes Industrial Park, is expected to create a minimum of 85 full-time jobs and generate an estimated 180 additional jobs in logging, transportation and local services in the region. Enviva, whose industrial wood pellets are used for renewable power generation, expects construction to be ready to begin on the facility in early 2020, subject to receiving the necessary permits. Enviva expects construction to take between 15 and 18 months. ➤ 10
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NEWSFEED 8 ➤ Enviva states the facility would principally utilize a mix of softwood and scrap from mills sourced from within a 75-mile radius. The sustainably sourced pellets produced at the plant would be transported by barge via the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway to the terminal at Pascagoula, then exported to Europe and Asia. Enviva owns and operates eight plants in the Southeast that produce more than 3.5 million metric tons of wood pellets annually. The Sumter County facility will be constructed to initially produce 700,000 metric tons of pellets annually, though production could eventually be increased to 1.15 million tons per year. The company does not own forestland but works with suppliers that meet its sustainability criteria. The company states it takes only wood from responsibly managed working forests and it does not take wood from forests that are being converted out of forest use.
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FUTURE FORESTS + JOBS COMBATS UNTRUTHS Future Forests + Jobs is a new initiative to advance a fact-based conversation around renewable wood energy and hold those who spread misinformation about the industry to account. For years activist organizations such as the Dogwood Alliance, Southern Environmental Law Center, and Environmental Integrity Project have waged a misinformation campaign against the wood biomass industry as well as the entire forest products sector, the initiative states. These efforts misled the public about the integrated forest products industry—including timber and renewable wood energy—and its role as a necessary solution to mitigate global climate change, which has been repeatedly affirmed by the world’s leading climate research authority, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “These activist groups ignore the science and advance policies that would result in burning more coal and losing more forests—exactly the wrong approach we need to fight global climate change today,” says Future Forests + Jobs spokesman Brian Rogers. “Our mission is to set the record straight and expose the well-funded and coordinated misinformation campaigns targeting this industry, and to stand up for the hundreds of thousands of forest products workers across America.” Future Forests + Jobs will combat misinformation through a new website – FutureForestsAndJobs.com – as well as through media engagement and other grassroots activities. Future Forests + Jobs is supported by the U.S. Industrial Pellet Assn., and will be led by Rogers, who served as a senior staffer to U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) for nearly a decade, and previously worked for former Vice President Al Gore’s Repower America campaign for comprehensive climate and energy legislation.
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ONWARD
UPWARD By David Abbott
Back-to-back big upgrades have been the norm at Varn Wood Products for the last three years.
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HOBOKEN, Ga. here should have been a day—just one day would have sufficed—at some point in 2018, a day when Varn Wood Products would have perhaps thrown a party, or maybe even just taken a long lunch, but done something, in recognition of its 50th anniversary. Unfortunately, there was no time for celebration. As Manager George Varn, Jr. says, “We were so busy we didn’t have time to think about it. Well,
maybe there was time enough for a long lunch, but ever since my great grandfather and his brother started the turpentine still in 1926, we have spent more time looking through the windshield than the rear view mirror.” It’s worth mentioning that descendants of the two brothers still gather each Friday morning to meet with the various managers. “It’s been a fun three years,” says General Manager and longtime lumberman John Talbert with only a dash of sarcasm, alluding to the fact that, from
After a series of projects maybe now they can relax. Left to right, George Varn, Sr., GM John Talbert and George Varn, Jr. 12
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2017 through 2019, Varn has been steadily completing one upgrade project after another. “It’s always fun to build, but it is a lot of work,” Varn, Jr. adds. It started at the sawmill in June 2017, when they undertook the installation of a green end Baxley line shaft trimmer and Hermary scanner to replace a trimmer and outdated optimization, while also adding a MoCo stacker. At the same time the Varn team replaced the ninety degree chain from the trimmer and re-pitched rather than replaced a Morris Industrial Controls hydraulic bin sorter at the sawmill. At the planer mill they added a MoCo tilt hoist and stick catcher. Upgrades at the planer mill continued in March 2018 with the addition of a VAB Solutions automatic grader and a Timber Automation lug loader. The team also re-worked a MIC trimmer to allow 120 lugs per minute. VAB added a cutin-two feature and moisture meter as well. Varn, Jr. says that in his 30 years at the mill, the VAB installation was the best he’s been involved with. “They showed up three months before startup to make sure their updates didn’t get in the way, and prioritized what we needed at startup so that we didn’t miss a beat.” A few months later they put a BID Group board singulator in at the sawmill, replacing one that should have been replaced in the 2017 sawmill project. “One thing we’ve learned from all these upgrades is to more closely look at what other equipment around the project should be replaced,” Varn, Jr. adds. Another major project started in November 2018 and was completed in June 2019: replacing a jumbo CanCar Chip-N-Saw canter (with no saw section), installed in 1973, with a Cone
A t top, the new canter line, flowing right to left into the gang; above, outfeed of profiler
A nnual production is about 9 5 MMB F . TIMBER PROCESSING
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feed table and bridge for the planer. In all Varn spent $11 million in 2017-2019. “We had machines that needed replacing and we needed to improve our speed and yield,” Varn Jr. explains. “We’re always thinking of how to change and improve, but we had planned for this big one for at least two or three years.” His father, George Varn, Sr., who built the mill in 1968, is quick to praise Talbert’s contribution, citing his and his son’s confidence in the general manager. “We knew John was capable of steering us in the right direction,” he says.
TURPENTINE Varn reconfigured some lumber flow areas.
Omega canter with profiler and saw box. Varn Jr. says that last upgrade has increased feed speed by 25-35% and decreased timber usage by 15-20%. As for why they went with Cone, Talbert says, “Our people knew how to work on a chip-n-saw and they (Cone) are just down the road, so we were comfortable with them and we had faith in Cone. The project wouldn’t have gotten off the ground except for the profilers. Our edger just couldn’t handle the additional piece count.” The new profiler line features an auto rotation log turner and tilting double length infeed. The four sided canter section includes a dual profiler module that can profile one board on each side. The
shifting saw section is behind the profiler to saw off the boards. It also includes a spline remover, outfeed rollcase and floor chains and belts to take the profiled boards directly to the trimmer line. The existing VDA was the only piece of equipment in the line that was reused, while supplied with a new VDA sweep conveyor at the VDA outfeed. The project included replacement of the optimizer and controls with a new Nelson Brothers True Scan 3D system. They also added a new PLC, operators console and controls system with R & L Engineering doing the controls work. The final piece of the puzzle (for now) was done in September, when they installed a BID Group/Dennis Miller in-
As the Varn Wood Products sawmill ends its 51st year of operation, elder statesman George Varn, Sr. nears his 99th birthday in December (see editorial on page 5). It’s worth noting that the involvement of the Varn family in the forest products industry, and that of Varn, Sr., actually goes back much further. A 1979 Timber Processing article on Varn Wood Products said that the family’s activity in the forest products industry went back better than 100 years—and that article was written better than 40 years ago. Varn, Sr. recalls that his family first got in the naval stores (turpentine) business sometime in the 1850s when his triple great grandfather, Daniel, worked as a woods rider for one of the first stills in Georgia. That TP article stated “the family obtained the first government license on, and developed commercial-
Much of the byproducts production moves to the company’s adjacent pellet mill.
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FAMILY TREE The Varn family is now in its third generation at the sawmill…or is it the fourth? You see, there are actually two sides of the Varn family in Varn Wood Products. The two Georges are on the side descended from George, Sr.’s grandfather (also named George), who started with his brother, K.S., in 1926. K.S.’s descendants have also been in the mill since day one. While George, Sr. did most of the engineering, his cousin Jacob, K.S.’s son, handled timber procurement and was very active in working on the original chip mill and planer mill. Jacob’s nephew Will currently works in timber purchasing. That side of the family is now in its third generation at the mill. On George, Sr.’s side, there are four generations including George, Jr.’s son, Sam, who recently began work as a forester. ly, the Olustee distillation system some 40 years ago,” which would have been in 1939. The Olustee dramatically improved the value of rosin by straining pine straw out before stilling. “We actually commissioned the engineering of it,” Varn, Sr. recollects; he would have been 19 when this happened. “It was a government project, but they had not accomplished anything with it, until my grandfather sent an engineer and got it to work.” Varn, Sr.’s grandfather built the still here with his brother, K.S., and they collected gum and produced turpentine and resin. The Varn family was in the naval stores business and business was good for most of the next 30 years, until domestic turpentine markets started to dry up. “It had petered out by the late 1960s,” Varn, Sr. recalls. “We continued selling internationally but the U.S. market was dying.” Still a relatively young man then, he and his cousins knew they needed to try something else. They decided to start the mill as a replacement for turpentine in 1968, though the older generation wasn’t entirely on board. “Nobody in the family had ever been involved in a sawmill before; we were a naval stores family,” Varn, Sr. says. “My grandfather and my great uncle were turpentine people, not sawmillers. Granddaddy was dead by then but my great uncle got on to me. He said you didn’t cut trees down, you used them to make turpentine and rosin. If they fell down, then you could send them to a sawmill, but only then.” It didn’t actually start out as a sawmill, but as a chip mill. Even when they first appeared in TP in ’79, the emphasis was still on chips—back then they produced more chips than lumber by a 3 to 1 ratio. “We were financed by a paper mill to provide them with chips,” Varn, Sr. says. As the Varn who tackled most of the engineering for the mill in its first few decades, he continues, “The sawmill was in my planning but it was not primary to the planning. Now it has become the main thing.” In those days, the elder Varn says, the only sawmill within 70 miles of Hoboken was in Folkston. “Basically, when we started our chip mill we were the only thing using much timber except little peckerwood mills and paper mills. There was very little lumber production in the area. It was all old-growth timber and the paper mills had just begun planting, but for the first year all we had was the chipper so we did no sawing.” They still have the original chipper from 1968, one that can handle 30 in. diameter trees. Varn, Sr. says they never actually chipped anything that big—he thinks 18 in. was the max—but still, Varn, Jr. says, “They chipped some stuff that would break your heart now.” 16
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“We started it as a chip mill and later we added a sort of a sawmill,” Varn, Sr. says. “We started producing lumber, more or less. We had two pieces of equipment: a Vance canter and a Cook double arbor gang, and that was the entire floor. You cut two edges, flip it over and do the other two and then run it through the gang.” Very quickly they determined that setup wasn’t working out, so they acquired a Tom Bush canter, replacing it a few years later with a Chip-N-Saw jumbo canter. That Chip-N-Saw, which was the subject of the 1979 article, was in use here from 1973 until 2017, when it was replaced as part of the current spate of upgrades. The Varns say they like to get their money’s worth out of each machine. “By building it and doing it we learned, on the job,” Varn, Sr. says, though he stresses with a laugh, “That is not the most recommended way to get into the sawmill business.” With 50 years behind him now in chips and lumber and another 30 before that in turpentine, Varn, Sr. has no question about which he prefers. “My background was in naval stores; we are in lumber because the naval stores business went away. We got in the sawmill business reluctantly and I would go back to naval stores in a minute if I could. But, you have to be flexible, and we were.” Varn still produces four barrels of turpentine a year for the Georgia Museum of Agriculture in Tifton. Those four barrels allow the museum to run a charge in their still at their Folklife Festival each April.
OPERATIONS As the years went by, Varn Wood Products continued to grow. The mill sold all its lumber rough and green or air dried until 1978, when they put in a dry kiln from Harvey Engineering. They installed a Yates American planer, which was in use until the planer burned down in 2007, in Talbert’s first week on the job. “Welcome to Varn,” he says, laughing in hindsight. “It was not a fire, it was THE fire,” the general manager recalls; the entire planer section burned down. A Newman 990 planer, which replaced the lost Yates American, now works with the new Timber Automation automatic grader, lug loader, the modified MIC trimmer, and a Harvey Engineering & Manufacturing Co. (HEMCO/USNR) unstacker and tilt hoist. Varn also now has two 140MBF capacity dry kilns. The newer one
Lumber handling in the planer mill
Product is heavy to 2x4s but there’s plenty of product mix capability.
Log scanning on the profiler line TIMBER PROCESSING
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came from Irvington-Moore (USNR). On the green end, Caterpillar frontend loaders transport logs to the infeed deck, where material passes through a series of cutup machines feeding two 24 in. Cambio debarkers, and the main chipper, the 75 in. Bush chipper that has been here since 1968. From there, the sawmill divides into two lines, a large log side and a small log side. The new Cone canter, which replaced the old ’73 Chip-N-Saw last year, is for the bigger diameter logs, which flow from there to a 12 in.
McGehee vertical double arbor gang. Meanwhile a Cone Machinery small log machine (installed in 2004 and the subject of a 2005 Timber Processing article) still handles the smaller ones. It produces only 4 in. cants. The lines merge at a Timber Automation optimized trimmer, followed by the new 90 degree chain, re-pitched sorter and new MoCo stacker. The mill uses all circle saws and sends them off to be filed. Sawdust, chips and planer shavings go to the company’s nearby pellet mill and three pellet presses from Italian company
La Meccanica, installed in 2013. “The export market for pellets is just another revenue stream and a way to monetize residuals,” Varn, Jr. says, not to mention that it allows Varn to achieve a greater degree of independence: “We are not as tightly tied to the paper mills as we were in the past.” Of Varn’s overall product mix, 2x4s account for a full 75%. The sawmill turns out about 95MMBF a year, all pine, and the pellet mill has a capacity of 100,000 tons. Talbert says all of their pellets are hauled by truck to the Brunswick port, bound for European power plants.
MARKET OUTLOOK Reflecting on how the business has evolved over the years, Varn, Jr., who joined the business in 1980, says, “Nobody cared a whit about yield when we started. But over time, yield and flexibility regarding markets have become much more important.” In choosing to do the upgrades now, with the goal of maximizing yield, one consideration was certainly the market. Based on where it looks like the lumber market is going, Talbert says, these projects were well-timed. “With all the capacity coming online, it is going to be a tough couple of years,” Varn, Jr. fears. His dad concurs: “There will be more lumber available than appears to be needed at this point.” Once more, the elder Varn praises Talbert for his instrumental role in improving the mill’s product mix: “John has been largely responsible for the product mix improvement. With the old canter we were limited to whatever the log would make, but with the profiler and saw box we’re able to follow the market. We’ve never had the capability before.” The sales picture is much more dynamic now than when the mill started, Varn, Sr. says. “All of our lumber was sold to the Thomas mill in Folkston, and it was sold on gross board footage; it had nothing to do with what size the lumber was. It was all contract sales to one company, but since we didn’t know a thing about the sawmill business, it permitted us to learn it gradually.” Varn Wood Products has its own timber base and buys standing timber. Will Varn, who manages this part of the operation, says, “This is one of the most competitive timber markets in the U.S.” That is another reason why improving yield was critical: “It makes a big difference in our raw material cost.” Varn Wood Products has 75 employees, including forestry and office staff. TP 18
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LASALLE
SECOND LOOK
The cover story of the September issue was the new LaSalle Lumber sawmill in Urania, La. The 200MMBF SYP mill, which started up earlier this year, is a joint venture between Hunt Forest Products and Tolko Industries. The mill moves byproduct to the adjacent Drax industrial wood pellet mill. LaSalle follows Biewer Lumber, Two Rivers Lumber and Georgia-Pacific Talladega as BID Group-supplied turnkey SYP startups since 2017. Here’s a second look. (Jessica Johnson photos) 22
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NEEDED
UPGRADE By Jessica Johnson
Biewer Lumber’s long-running Prentice sawmill has received another round of upgrades.
Recent improvements are taking production up to 130MMBF annually.
D
PRENTICE, Wis. uring the last few years, the Biewer Lumber name has been associated with a big sawmill expansion in the Southern U.S. Biewer may have invested in the South, but love (and capital investment) was not in short supply in the red pine mills of the Great Lakes region of the U.S. for the Michi-
Handling and loading of byproducts has been enhanced.
Much of the recent upgrading focused on log entry.
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gan-based manufacturer. Its Prentice location, which was the second greenfield plant built by the Biewer family in 1990, saw now leader Tim Biewer, Timber Processing’s Person of the Year in 2017, as its first mill manager at startup in 1991. Current Mill Manager Rich Reinemann says that when Prentice was first built the mill was strong, and over the years upgrades were needed as happens with all facilities as they age. The last time heavy investment was put into Prentice was in 2014, when the mill built an entire new planer mill along with new Wellons dry kilns. In 2006, the mill installed a new edger and trimmer from Coe Newnes McGehee (USNR). Prior to these upgrades the mill had run as built with original equipment. In the last 18 months the upgrades came once again, and it was a busy spring for Reinemann and his team, including Jennifer Hinzmann, plant superintendent; Thad Henderson, assistant plant manager; and David Hinzmann and Mitch Borgen, maintenance superintendents. The mill is hitting its stride now and proudly reporting a strong uptick in production. “Everything we’ve done in the last year should get to a 25% increase in production,” Reinemann notes. “We were struggling to get 96MMBF, 100MMBF out of the facility with what we had; now we’re generating numbers that put us at our 130MMBF goal, but it’s got to be sustainable.” He adds that the mill is feeling a bit constrained by drying capacity, and that area of the mill is the logical next step for capital expenditure, though none is currently planned. “Our recovery is very, very good,” he reiterates. Among the capital projects, one of the biggest game changers for Prentice was redoing the entire debarker infeed line, which previously had two decks, but suffered from an inability to load from both sides, which meant the operator was unable to separate logs by diameter. With the new infeed line, Prentice kept its existing Nicholson debarker, but brought Comact in to make it more efficient through tuning. A reject bin was installed for logs kicked out of the process due to metal, and new Comact wave feeders were installed, with the addition of automated gap control. Newly installed Comact log scanners scan for diameter and length, which J. Hinzmann says the mill didn’t have the capability to do in the past. “It prevents larger diameter logs that won’t fit in our debarker to kick off before they get into the mill and cause issues,” she adds. Cameras were installed in additional
Kneeling, Thad Henderson (assistant plant manager); back row left to right, Jennifer Hinzmann (plant superintendent), Rich Reinemann (plant manager)
Front row left to right, Iuhper Oscar (1st shift sawmill supervisor), Zach Kurtzbach (1st shift backup sawmill supervisor), Casey Moore (kiln supervisor); back row left to right, Jamie Puls (2nd shift sawmill supervisor), Tyler Novak (2nd shift planer supervisor), Jeff Pearson (boiler supervisor), Josh Firnstahl (1st shift planer supervisor)
Kneeling, Lucas Torres (sawroom supervisor); back row left to right, Mitch Borgen (1st shift maintenance superintendent), David Hinzmann (2nd shift maintenance superintendent TIMBER PROCESSING
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areas of the mill where vision previously wasn’t, allowing operators to see more of the facility from cabs and control rooms. “With the additional cameras we are able to prevent downtime,” J. Hinzmann comments. Automating gap control gave Prentice a huge uptick in log flow, which translates to an uptick in production as well. Before automation, the chip-n-saw was slowed down because the debarker line couldn’t keep logs flowing to the deck. Now it’s opposite, the debarker is stopping and waiting for the chip-n-saw line to catch up. In addition to the infeed line upgrades, Prentice installed two new bins from U.S. Metals, one for chips and one for shavings. Instead of blowing chips directly into trailers, chips now go into bins, and haulers are able to load their own chips from the top-loading spout on the bin. Scrapers were also added, so bark no longer falls to the ground and instead is scraped, fed to the hog line and burned for boiler fuel. In September of this year, controls in certain sections of the mill were also upgraded. “The facility needed some love and it has come a long way in the last five years,” says J. Hinzmann, who has worked at the mill more than 17 years as one of the 107 full-time sawmill employees. A recent project was an optimization software upgrade with USNR on both the edger and the trimmer along with upgrading to Windows 10. “The recent USNR upgrades went really well,” adds Plant Manager Reinemann. “They provided us with excellent support.”
Outfeed of canter line
MILL FLOW At Prentice logs are either purchased open market (about 75% of the wood yard) or through Biewer stumpage (about 25%), from about a 110 mile radius of the mill. “We’re not real close to any of the resources,” Henderson says, “but we’re centralized to the major resources.” The mill cuts red pine and spruce—anything from 6 in. to 20 in.— and is processing logs within two weeks of cutting. “We try to keep a rotation of two weeks or less in the yard, and older logs are processed first. Past October 15 to April 1, we don’t have to follow that as strict. The wood is fine; it will keep. It dries differently,” J. Hinzmann explains. Staining is a concern in the summer months, so fresh logs and old logs are not processed together. Logs are separated by diameter, then 26
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Biewer-Prentice built a new planer mill in 2014.
scanned for length and diameter. Logs that meet spec pass metal detection; logs that are too long or otherwise oversized are kicked out. Spec logs, after being debarked using the newly tuned Nicholson A7 debarker, kick to a Cone Machinery canter line with optimization by Comact. Sideboards fall to a rollcase and go to an original Coe Newnes McGehee (USNR) optimized edger line. Boards flow from the edger and canter line to the Coe Newnes McGehee (USNR) trimmer. Boards are sorted to a 40 bin Coe (USNR) slant sorter, then flow to a MoCo stacker in preparation for drying. All Biewer lumber in Prentice is KDHT, dried in one of five Wellons kilns, powered by a Wellons boiler. Dried lumber is placed in a dry yard to wait for planing—equalizing for 24 hours. In the planer mill, lumber is processed by a Newman 1600 high speed planer. To prevent mold in the summer months, Biewer sprays a wood protection moldicide spray by Lonza Wood Protection. Lumber flows to a landing table, then is graded by a Comact GradExpert. A USNR trimmer makes any necessary final cuts; a Claussen AllMark stamper labels lumber before flowing to a Pierce Construction bin sorter. A USNR stacker prepares lumber packs that are automatically banded by one of two machines—ConVey/Signode with RNL Controls. 80% of lumber is paper wrapped before hitting the warehouse. Henderson says the mill makes a full array of grades for its dimension, including #2, nongrade, select cut, standard and better; for 1 in. the mill will also make an appearance grade. While a lot of the lumber is destined for retail markets, 20% of production is fed to Biewer’s own treating plant in Prentice, which is co-located with the sawmill. A maintenance staff of 20 keep the facility in line, working four shifts on an on/off basis. Every day the mill goes down from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. for scheduled maintenance, though the bulk of the work is done on the weekends when the mill is not running. Simonds saws are preferred millwide. TP
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DAY OR NIGHT timberprocesssing.com
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DRYKILNS
AMERICAN WOOD DRYERS The new patented single pass kiln from American Wood Dryers simplifies mill flow and reduces handling. Both single pass and counter flow configurations are available providing more production with less energy than batch kilns. Exterior mounted fan motors for high kiln operating temperatures with options of direct or belt driven are a part of this proven design. Based on years of industry experience, American uses a blend of construction materials including modular panel construction with aluminum and stainless steel sheeting to provide a long lasting system. Rigid foam insulation is standard with options for high heat operating temperatures. Conversions of existing batch kilns to continuous kilns are available. PLC based control systems with integrated moisture metering are supplied with these systems. Direct-fired green sawdust, dry shavings, or natural gas heat systems are typical options. Steam and thermal oil are available. Turnkey installations are provided by American Wood Dryers.
American Wood Dryers provides turnkey dryer installations.
BRUNNER HILDEBRAND Brunner Hildebrand has been serving the lumber industry for almost 70 years and developed unique products, such as the world’s largest vacuum dryer HIGH VAC or the Hildebrand Continuous Kilns Alexander. Located in Nashville, Tenn., Brunner Hildebrand Lumber Dry Kiln Co. is specialized in kilns for softwood and hardwood. The company’s expertise ensures that customers will receive individual dry kiln solutions tailored to the needs of each sawmill. Each solution is chosen based on the needs of the customer, their capacity and lumber grade. The possibility of future expansion is always taken into account when designing the solution. The priority is in providing the best-engineered, installed and serviced product in the market today. The company’s service network is on standby to provide full service and support after delivery and installation, either on location or by remote access. Recently, the company introduced the Hildebrand Weight Precision Technology (HWPT), which is capable of weighing entire lumber stacks in wireless mode. In contrast to the former Brunner Hildebrand in-kiln-probe-system, this is a massive improvement because it produces more accurate results and it may easily be integrated into the daily work routine by using weighing devices looking just like regular 4x4s. In combination with the new Vector EW control system, which is based on seven decades of experience and shows kilns in appealing 2D and 3D mode, customers benefit from a superb level of accuracy and practical implementation. The latest kiln development is the Hildebrand Continuous Kiln Alexander, which is the right solution for mills that produce large volumes of lumber, e.g. dimension SPF. While developing the HCK, Brunner Hildebrand put great emphasis on creating exactly the right drying conditions for the respective lumber moisture content. The Hildebrand Weight Precision Technology, which is integrated in the kiln carts, ensures full control. To provide best results, the technical features of each individual drying zone are customized to the drying state and moisture of the lumber passing through.
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DRYKILNS
LIGNOMAT
Lignomat has developed new software and hardware for monitoring and controlling dry kilns and predryers. With 40 years in the kiln control and moisture meter business, the company is excited to promote it newest control system to the industry. With multi-platform and network capabilities, the system can be remotely controlled and monitored from any mobile device, via any operating system. You are no longer dependent on a Microsoft Windows PC. The secure, open source product with detailed installation documents and troubleshooting tools allow for a smooth and timely installation for new and retrofitted kilns. Lignomat focuses on quality and versatility with its products, assisting kiln operators in effectively drying quality lumber. For example, the company offers options, such as adjustable safety features and drying parameters. Lignomat’s freely programmable drying schedules can be time-based or moisture content-based determined by MC probes or weight samples. In addition, the drying schedules are freely customizable. One popular Kiln Operator tool is unique schedule editing. Modify and save running schedules without affecting the original schedule in your library. Adjust, apply, adapt and be ready for the next time similar conditions arise. Automatic Event Texts, AHDC, Peak Energy Management and Timber Rest are a few more tools at the Kiln Operator’s disposal with Lignomat Kiln Control Systems. Lignomat also offers wireless and wirebound monitors and data logging systems. Sensors Lignomat is raising the bar again. are available for wood MC%, EMC, dry-bulb, wet-bulb, wood core temps and relative humidity. Lignomat offers quality hardware and custom software design for the worldwide lumber industry to reduce drying times and energy consumption. All of the control systems, monitoring systems, inline moisture meters and handheld moisture meters are built in America and sold at competitive prices. If you have or are looking to purchase hardwood kilns, high temp kilns, solar kilns or vacuum kilns, Lignomat offers control and monitoring systems that are flexible enough to fit almost any application.
MÜHLBÖCK The two biggest cost factors in wood drying are heat and electricity consumption. In addition, the drying quality is also a decisive factor in assessing the overall cost-effectiveness of timber drying kilns. With the 1306 PRO drying system, Mühlböck of Eberschwang, Austria has developed a system “that is superior to all previous systems” in terms of both energy savings and drying quality. “The aim of our innovations is to make our customers more successful and even more competitive. This requires systems that are specifically designed to meet the current and future requirements of our customers,” explains CEO Richard Mühlböck. The unique design of the 1306 PRO drying kiln reduces both the heat consumption by up to 25% and the electrical power consumption without restrictions on the drying process. This is made possible Active fresh and exhaust air units of the drying kiln 1306 PRO by a heat recovery system, which in combination with the fans in the fresh and exhaust air unit is much more efficient than comparable systems. Depending on the drying batch and outside temperature, Mühlböck states the savings potential to be approximately 15%. A further 10% heat saving is achieved by the innovative arrangement of heating coils and fresh and exhaust air units, which ensure that 100% of the heated air is actually used in the system for drying. This also distinguishes the drying chamber 1306 PRO considerably from existing systems in which heated drying air is discharged unused in one direction of air rotation. The best and most uniform drying results can only be achieved if the air distribution and flow in the drying chamber are optimal. The already mentioned active fresh and exhaust air system in combination with flow-optimized air spaces in the fan deck and the scoop area, an optimized fan layout and vertically installed heating coils ensure the uniform flow through all wood stacks in the 1306 PRO drying kilns. “In cooperation with external specialists and a large number of flow simulations, Mühlböck Research & Development was able to develop a solution that achieves excellent air distribution over the entire stack cross section and thus uniform drying, whether in coniferous softwood products with high performance requirements or hardwood with special color requirements,” says the Mühlböck sales managers. Mühlböck also emphasizes that saving energy in the field of lumber drying is not only an economic aspect but also highly relevant in terms of environmental protection. A large number of customers already trust in the drying chamber 1306 PRO and can confirm the promised savings, performance and drying qualities of this system. TIMBER PROCESSING
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DRYKILNS
NYLE DRY KILNS
Nyle Dry Kilns has more than 42 years of experience in the lumber industry. Selling more than 7,500 kilns worldwide to date they have made their mark as a leading manufacturer of dry kiln solutions, offering dehumidification, indirect gas as well as steam and hot water kilns. Nyle specializes in dehumidification units for their many advantages. They are efficient both from a cost-topurchase and a cost-to-own basis. Their high energy efficiency means operating costs of up to 60% less than other conventional lumber kilns in some cases. Nyle units are known for their superior drying capability, easy to use controls, and long-life cycle. Where all their units and the components are built in house, Nyle is able to perform highly custom services to Nyle Dry Kilns continues to build up its team. fit any need. In addition to their legendary service and easy, fast installation, complimentary phone service is provided to every customer regardless of if it’s their first kiln purchase or their 15th. Nyle not only stands by their products but their customers too by providing them with quality products that meet their needs and reduce the cost of drying. They make sure their customers have all of the information and materials they need to achieve the best possible results when drying their lumber. Nyle added two key players to their roster this year, Henco Viljoen and Jeremy Pitts. Earlier this year Henco joined the team as a Kiln Specialist. Henco brings his vast 20+ years hands on knowledge of wood drying, wood technology, IT and automation. Henco and his family relocated to Maine from South Africa, where he ran his own business as drying consultant, specializing in the development and analysis of drying systems to improve kiln performance and efficiencies. He also owned and ran a small lumber drying plant, drying mostly hardwoods for the export market. Most recently Nyle has added Jeremy Pitts as one of their sales representatives. Jeremy has a background of kiln sales, process improvement, and marketing.
SII DRY KILNS Since 1969 SII Dry Kilns of Lexington, NC has been providing the lumber industry with high quality lumber drying equipment. SII specializes in hardwood dry kilns in conventional and track loaded as well as the “SII Design” center fan wall designs. Softwood dry kilns come in dual path or batch loaded with heating systems including direct fired or steam. Other offerings include cross flow/center fan wall or down draft predryers; fan shed equipment; pallet and firewood drying/heat treating chambers. SII is now the official North America SII Dry Kilns has supplied dry kilns to the lumber industry for 50 years. representative for WDE Maspell, one of the worldwide leaders in vacuum kiln technology WDE Maspell offers vacuum kilns in press or air as well as thermal modification kilns. Currently, the patented process uses “vacuum technology” in conjunction with elevated temperatures (up to 230°C / 446°F) to provide truly unique thermally modified wood. SII offers a complete range of kiln controls including the “Sample Watch” in-kiln weight system (now in wireless). SII also provides kiln rehab and repair services as well as a full line of kiln parts and accessories.
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DRYKILNS
USNR
USNR’s counter flow kilns are the largest and most flexible in the industry. They use heating systems that produce a whopping 40 mm BTUs from a variety of fuel sources including steam, shavings, green fuel and natural gas. This flexibility allows mills to burn the fuel that gives them the most savings. The USNR green fuel burner “gasifier” can be manufactured as a hybrid burner using a combination of green sawdust and natural gas independently in the same system. Mills can switch between fuel sources to take advantage of price fluctuations and other market conditions. Having more fuel source options also lets you continue drying through quarterly clean-outs, by using gas. The green fuel burner has a patented Turbo Technology which achieves the clean performance of steam-heated dry kilns with the economy of direct-fired dry kilns, all in one package. This innovative system eliminates common burner problems and the costly shortcomings of convenUSNR hybrid burner offers fuel choice flexibility. tional designs. The unit burns sawdust for an economical heat source, like standard direct-fired kilns. But this model employs an afterburner module to ensure complete combustion. The unique afterburner provides for total combustion, which keeps high value lumber in the kiln remarkably clean and free from ash. In fact, the resulting dry lumber has proven to be as clean as that dried by any steam kiln. USNR has manufactured dry kilns for more than 100 years, and today has the largest installed base in North America.
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DRYKILNS
VALUTEC
Valutec is one of the world’s leading suppliers of lumber kilns with more than 4,000 delivered kilns throughout its history. A strong focus on research and development has resulted in more than 20 international patents in technical solutions and guiding principles for drying and control systems. In recent years, Valutec’s TC continuous kilns have changed the way sawmills operate with a “never-seenbefore” combination of flexibility, capacity and quality. In a TC the lumber is dried during transport through a Valutec is starting up its first TC continuous kiln in North America. number of zones with separate climates. In November Valutec will start up its first TC kiln in North America at Pleasant River Lumber in Maine. “We visited several Swedish sawmills that were using Valutec products and they exceeded our highest expectations in terms of the details, quality of design and energy efficiency. At the end of the day, it was a very easy decision. Valutec has a product that will position us at the leading edge throughout North America when it comes to drying technology,” says Jason Brochu, owner of Pleasant River Lumber.
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DRYKILNS
DELTECH MANUFACTURING BID Group’s DelTech Manufacturing division is a primary manufacturer of continuous wood Dual Path Kiln (DPK) systems, coupled with biomass-fueled energy systems, dry and green sawdust burner systems, steam, thermal oil and or hotwater as an energy souce. DelTech is the leader in the design, manufacturing and installation of DPK systems with more than 47 operating installations and with seven systems under construction. The DelTech system is designed around many customer-oriented solutions, allowing for flexibility in the drying process, with the objective of assisting the customer’s base to achieve a higher productivity rate, lower standard deviation, lower energy consumption per unit dried, resulting in an increase grade recovery. DelTech is committed to bringing innovative and economical solutions to the industry with continuous in-house R&D and collaboration with industry professionals.
DelTech DPK is nearing 55 in operation.
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MACHINERYROW Tigercat Adds Biochar Machine To Lineup
Tigercat-ROI mobile biochar producer
Tigercat Industries Inc. has purchased Ragnar Original Innovations (ROI) of New Hampshire. The company, founded by Anders Ragnarsson, manufactures material processing machinery used in the construction, forestry and recycling industries. The immediate addition to the Tigercat lineup will be the Carbonizer product line. The innovative carbon negative technology can convert processed and unprocessed
wood debris into a product called Biochar. Still relatively new to the marketplace, this technology has attracted widespread interest from both the private and public sectors seeking practical methods to reduce atmospheric carbon emissions. The Carbonizer’s single step process sequesters carbon and significantly reduces debris volume while creating a product useful in agriculture. Ragnarsson assumes the role of VP Material Processing Products. He and his team will continue to operate from their Chester, NH location until a new facility in Freemont, NH currently under construction is completed.
Seneca Buys Second Lucidyne GradeScan Seneca has purchased a new Lucidyne GradeScan with Perceptive Sight for the mill in Noti, Ore. Seneca’s Eugene mill purchased its GradeScan many years ago and recently upgraded it to the Perceptive Sight platform. The results were so impressive that the Noti purchase was quickly approved. All new Lucidyne GradeScans come standard with the Perceptive Sight Intelligent Grading platform, using deep learning artificial intelligence for unmatched defect detection and grading results. Seneca required a quick turnaround on this system with only 12 weeks from order to startup, and Lucidyne was able to deliver. The system will be installed and started up in December.
WVCO Opens Facility In Eugene Willamette Valley Company held a grand opening in June for its state-ofthe-art Research & Development facility in Eugene, Ore. The building remodel took two years from concept to completion. Willamette Valley Co. is a multinational corporation that manufactures and distributes a variety of custom products and services throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, Russia, Australia, New Zealand and South America. While its roots are based in the wood products industry and go back to its inception in 1952, expertise and solutions now encompass innovative coatings, paints, fillers, adhesives, value added waxes, polyurethanes, epoxies, robotics, engineering and much more across more than a dozen industries and specialties. 42
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ATLARGE OSU Opens Advanced Wood Products Lab Oregon State University College of Forestry celebrated the grand opening of its A.A. Red Emmerson Advanced Wood Products Laboratory, a facility dedicated to furthering research and collaboration in the timber design, engineering, fabrication and construction sectors. The 17,500 square-foot lab is part of the Oregon Forest Science Complex on OSU’s Corvallis campus and is the new home of the TallWood Design Institute, an interdisciplinary partnership between OSU’s colleges of Forestry and Engineering and the University of Oregon’s College of Design. TallWood’s focus is the advancement of structural wood products and mass timber design in constructing high-rise and other multistory buildings. “The institute has close links with Oregon’s manufacturing community and we are proud to have worked with both of the state’s mass timber producers, DR Johnson and Freres Lumber, during their product development efforts,” says Tall-
Planermac at new OSU lab
Wood Design Institute Director Iain Macdonald. “We have also been able to conduct structural, fire, acoustic and durability testing for many of the mass timber building projects that have taken shape around Oregon and beyond.” The grand opening featured live demonstrations of state-of-the art manufacturing equipment, including a Kuka robot milling cell, tours of the laboratory and remarks from U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and Interim Forestry Dean Anthony Davis. “This facility tells the story of the evolution of mass timber here in Ore-
gon,” Merkley says. “It’s the culmination of a lot of work and a foundation for an extraordinary future for products that are sustainable, for new and different designs, so we can take Oregon trees and ship these engineered products all around the world to further strengthen Oregon’s economy.” The college broke ground in October 2016 on the 95,000 square-foot forest science complex that will also include the George W. Peavy Forest Science Center, scheduled to open in spring 2020. The complex showcases innovative uses for wood in building construction and design, including advanced wood products such as cross-laminated timber. “Wood is the only primary building material we can grow and its effective use has to be a cornerstone in mounting an aggressive front in challenging our sustainability and climate crises,” Davis says. “Oregon is blessed with having some of the most productive and diverse forests in the world. Because of this we are better positioned than anyone else to serve as a bridge between our natural resources and meeting the demands of
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ATLARGE urban growth and renewal, while also continuing to conserve habitat and provide recreational access.” The new buildings will serve a growing student population and meet the research needs of people working throughout the state and region toward creating healthy forests, ecosystems and communities. In the last decade, the college has steadily increased its enrollment of undergraduate and graduate students. Red Emmerson and his father, R.H. Curly Emmerson, were the founders of Sierra Pacific Industries, one of the largest lumber producers in the United States. The company donated $6 million toward the construction of the complex. Red Emmerson’s sons, George Emmerson, who graduated from Oregon State in 1978, and Mark Emmerson, lead the company as president and chairman/ chief financial officer, respectively. Their sister Carolyn Emmerson Dietz, a 1982 OSU graduate, is president of the Sierra Pacific Foundation. Michael Green Architecture, an innovator in high-rise wood construction, designed the $79.5 million forest science complex, funded by public and private dollars. “These new facilities represent a critical step in the pathway towards using renewable materials in new ways,” Davis adds. “Our mission is to use this space as a model of how we can pair Oregon’s intellectual capacity with our natural resources and capitalize on our spirit of innovation.”
Management Options Abound For Tongass U.S. Dept. of Agriculture is seeking public comment on a draft environmental impact statement offering a range of alternatives to roadless management and a proposed Alaska Roadless Rule. If adopted, the proposed rule would exempt the Tongass National Forest from the 2001 Roadless Rule. The USDA Forest Service is publishing the documents in the Federal Register. The draft environmental impact statement, prepared under the National Environmental Policy Act, provides an analysis of six alternatives, which are options, choices, or courses of action related to roadless management in Alaska. The alternatives range from no action to the removal of the Tongass from the 2001 Roadless Rule. The department has identified Alternative 6, which is a full exemption, as the preferred alternative at 44
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ATLARGE this time. The full range of options are: —Alternative 1 takes no action and would leave all of Alaska under the 2001 Roadless Rule, including the Tongass National Forest. —Alternative 2 provides regulatory protection for the majority (89%) of key watersheds inside roadless areas and would convert 18,000 old-growth acres and 10,000 young-growth acres previously identified as unsuitable timber
lands to suitable timber lands. —Alternative 3 provides regulatory protections for all key watersheds inside and outside roadless areas, creates a community priority roadless designation that allows for recreational development and timber sales under 1 million board feet, and would convert 76,000 oldgrowth acres and 14,000 young-growth acres previously identified as unsuitable timber lands to suitable timber lands.
—Alternative 4 restricts harvest and road-building activities in scenic viewsheds and most (88%) key watersheds inside roadless areas and would convert 158,000 old-growth acres and 15,000 young-growth acres previously identified as unsuitable timber lands to suitable timber lands. —Alternative 5 would remove 2.3 million acres from roadless area designation, protects some (59%) key watersheds, and would convert 165,000 oldgrowth acres and 17,000 young-growth acres previously identified as unsuitable timber lands to suitable timber lands. —Alternative 6 (preferred) would exempt the Tongass National Forest from the 2001 Roadless Rule and is fully responsive to the State of Alaska’s petition. The alternative would remove all 9.2 million acres of inventoried roadless acres and would convert 165,000 old-growth acres and 20,000 young-growth acres previously identified as unsuitable timber lands to suitable timber lands. Conservation of roadless values would be achieved through other means, including the Tongass Land Management Plan. This is specific to the Tongass National Forest. The Chugach National Forest would remain under the 2001 Roadless Rule. The Secretary of Agriculture is expected to make a final decision by June 2020. The Tongass stretches over the 500-milelong Southeast Alaska Panhandle and covers 80% of the land. It is rich in natural resources and cultural heritage. Developed areas cover about 8% of the land. There are 32 communities, including the state capital Juneau, in southeast Alaska.
Training Seminars Held In The Caribbean In mid-August, Eric Gee, SFPA Deputy Director, and other representatives from the U.S. softwood lumber industry conducted seminars and one-onone training in the Caribbean on properly specifying and applying U.S. softwood lumber and pressure-treated lumber. Seminar locations included Nassau, Bahamas, and Georgetown, Grand Cayman. This is the first time that the U.S. industry has provided technical training in these two markets in over a decade. The team provided on-site training, visiting several wood traders and construction sites to observe products carried in the market and to provide guidance and support on using and sourcing wood from the U.S. Site visits in the 46
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ATLARGE Bahamas revealed that the practice of ripping lumber does not appear to be an issue and that most material (other than timbers) is only treated for above ground applications, although there was some concern that a portion of this material would be used in ground contact. Across the Grand Cayman sites, most material was southern pine with 2 in., 4 in., and 6 in. thicknesses being pressure treated. While most of the plywood at these sites is currently being imported from Brazil, there is a great need for pressure-treated plywood across the Caribbean, and there was a communicated interest in importing this product. Both seminars were well-attended, with 46 attendees in Nassau and 21 in Georgetown. Attendees participated enthusiastically, and several questions were posed regarding pressure treatment and quality. Participants in the Nassau seminar remarked that they particularly appreciated the in-depth knowledge provided regarding lumber’s sustainability; especially the various stages of growth, supported ecosystems, and the lumber industry’s commitment to quality. Exit
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surveys revealed that attendees at both seminars felt that the largest obstacles when purchasing U.S. products include “lack of knowledge of species” and “lack of knowledge of different grades.” Future efforts will be made to involve more training on lumber grades as well as specifying pressure-treated wood for the intended purpose.
Tree Distribution Remembers Michael Florida Forest Service hosted a tree distribution in Bristol in October. Area residents were invited to attend and receive free ready-to-plant trees to replace those lost during Hurricane Michael. “As we reflect on the anniversary of Hurricane Michael, we must not forget the work ahead of us in the Florida Panhandle,” said Agriculture Commissioner Nicole (Nikki) Fried. “These Community Tree Recovery events are part of countless efforts to help re-establish communities and bring hope to Floridians as they rebuild their lives.” The event was in partnership with the
Arbor Day Foundation and sponsored by AT&T and FedEx. Arborists, foresters and environmental professionals were on-site to answer questions about tree planting and care. “The loss of tree coverage due to Hurricane Michael resulted in significant damage to local economic and ecological resources in hundreds of communities across the Florida Panhandle,” said Jim Karels, State Forester and Director of the Florida Forest Service. “Reforesting these communities will take time, and we are committed to helping ensure the long-term success of recovery efforts.” Since January, the Florida Forest Service and partners have given more than 11,000 native trees to area residents. Additional tree distribution events are planned in the 11 Florida counties impacted by Hurricane Michael. The Florida Forest Service, a division of the Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services, manages more than 1 million acres of state forests and provides forest management assistance on more than 17 million acres of private and community forests. ➤ 53
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PRODUCTSCANNER10 timberprocessing.com
Carbotech Launches Log Feeder
entrance of the facility. THE STREAM will be installed at Spruce Products in Manitoba. Other installations are planned in upcoming months. Like all other Carbotech machines, THE STREAM is offered with after-sales service, better known as CarboCare. Visit carbotech.ca.
Wood-Mizer Introduces Turbo 747 Blade Left to right, Eric Faucher, director of sales – Canada for Carbotech, and Luc Houde, general manager of Carbotech
Carbotech presents its newest piece of equipment, THE STREAM, a strong and efficient log feeder. With THE STREAM, Carbotech is widening its service offering in the wood industry by contributing to the log entry process. The official launch was at the Carbotech facility in Plessisville, Quebec surrounded by clients and business partners who had the opportunity to see THE STREAM in action. For the occasion, a line of logs was assembled on an adjacent lot to the facility. In addition to its continual high-speed rhythm and strength, THE STREAM benefits from a brand new gap control designed by the Carbotech engineering team and reaching higher levels of efficiency. The name chosen refers to a current with a continual flow that reflects the image of continually bringing logs to the
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Wood-Mizer introduces the Turbo 747 high-performance sawmill blade engineered for all band sawmill and resaw makes and models, horsepower ratings, and sawing applications. Available in SilverTip Carbon and DoubleHard High-Alloy steel material, Turbo 747 sawmill blades feature a deep capacity gullet for less sawdust on the board, extreme back angle for faster sawing speeds, and sharp penetrating points for increased sawing accuracy. “Wood-Mizer is committed to providing the best sawmill blades in the industry for all sawmilling equipment and applications,” says Randy Panko, Wood-Mizer Blades Sales Manager. “After extensive field testing, the new Turbo 747 blade has resulted in increased feed rate, accuracy, and sharp life in all horsepower levels and sawmill equipment models. With the blade’s steep sloped back angle and proven 7 degree hook angle, sawyers can try it on everything they saw and take on even the most challenging sawing applications.” Visit woodmizer.com.
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WOOD PRODUCTS MARKETPLACE NORTH AMERICA
■ Minnesota
■ Ohio
■ Canada
Shoreline Machine Products
19301 St. Clair Ave. Cleveland, OH 44117 800-875-7637 • Fax: 800-875-6866 www.shorelineproducts.com
■ Ontario
Manufacturer of Quality, American Made Crane Mat Bolts Stock bolts – 7/8"-9, 1"-8, 1/4"-7 x 47 1/2 Custom Lengths upon request Larry Arth–Sales Contact us for a free quote today! 50 Years In Business
■ Oregon
Next closing: January 4, 2020 ■ United States ■ Georgia Beasley Forest Products, Inc. P.O. Box 788 Hazlehurst, GA 31539
■ North Carolina Cook Brothers Lumber Co., Inc.
beasleyforestproducts.com Manufactures Kiln-Dried 4/4 Red and White Oak, Poplar, Ash and Cypress Contact: Linwood Truitt Phone (912) 253-9000 / Fax: (912) 375-9541 linwood.truitt@beasleyforestproducts.com
Pallet components, X-ties, Timbers and Crane Mats Contact: Ray Turner Phone (912) 253-9001 / Fax: (912) 375-9541 ray.turner@beasleyforestproducts.com
STACKING STICKS Manufacturer of Appalachian Hardwood Lumber LEONARD COOK, Sales (828) 524-4857 • cell: (828) 342-0997 residential: (828) 369-7740 P.O. Box 699 • Frankin, NC 28744 NATIONAL HARDWOOD LUMBER ASSOCIATION
■ Kentucky HAROLD WHITE LUMBER, INC. MANUFACTURER OF FINE APPALACHIAN HARDWOODS
(606) 784-7573 • Fax: (606) 784-2624 www.haroldwhitelumber.com Buyers & Wholesalers
Ray White
Domestic & Export Sales rwhite@haroldwhitelumber.com Cell: (606) 462-0318
Green & Kiln Dried, On-Site Export Prep & Loading Complete millworks facility, molding, milling & fingerjoint line
■ Tennessee
We produce quality 4/4 - 8/4 Appalachian hardwoods • Red Oak, White Oak, Poplar •
Green Lumber: Air Dried, Kiln Dried Timbers & Crossties
• Hickory, Sycamore, Beech, Gum & Elm • Custom Cut Timbers: Long lengths and wide widths
Sales/Service: 336-746-5419
336-746-6177 (Fax) • www.kepleyfrank.com
FOR SALE
AIR-O-FLOW profiled & FLAT sticks available Imported & Domestic DHM Company - Troy, TN 38260 731-538-2722 Fax: 707-982-7689 email: kelvin@kilnsticks.com www.KILNSTICKS.com
WANT TO GET YOUR AD IN OUR NEXT MARKETPLACE? Call or email Melissa McKenzie 334-834-1170 melissa@hattonbrown.com
08/19
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Call Toll-Free: 1-800-669-5613
EMPLOYMENTOPPORTUNITIES JOHN GANDEE
& ASSOCIATES, INC
info@bhl-drykilns.com
Depending on Circumstances / Needs
“Your Success Is Our Business” Serving the Wood Products and Building Materials Industries For more than 26 years.
512-795-4244
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Dennis Krueger 866-771-5040
Jackie Paolo 866-504-9095
greenwoodimportsllc@gmail.com
jackie@gwi.us.com
PROFESSIONALSERVICES
Call or Email me anytime! john@johngandee.com www.johngandee.com 3220
WORN OR MISALIGNED CARRIAGE RAILS? A Proven Process
Top Wood Jobs Recruiting and Staffing George Meek geo@TopWoodJobs.com www.TopWoodJobs.com (360) 263-3371
Importers and Distributors of Tropical Hardwood Kiln Sticks “The lowest cost per cycle”
SEARCH NORTH AMERICA, INC. 1615
Contingency or Retained Search
Austin, Texas
More than 60 years of experience in lumber industry makes our company one of the market leaders for modern and industrial lumber dry kilns.
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Executive – Managerial – Technical - Sales
Join Our Technical And Sales Team For The United States and Canada
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Contact Us Cell: 541.760.7173 Office: 770.364.0917 www.acculine-rails.com chris@acculine-rails.com
• Rails straightened & ground in-place at a fraction of the cost of rail replacement • No down time for the mill • Restores carriage rails to optimum sawing efficiency •Precision Laser Alignment • Machining and Grinding • Carriage and Bandmill Alignment 489
ATLARGE
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Pleasant River-Sanford Wins Graders Event The 16th Annual Eastern White Pine Graders Competition, sponsored by Northeastern Lumber Manufacturers Assn., was held September 28 and hosted by Madison Lumber Mill in West Ossipee, New Hampshire. Forty-six graders representing eight sawmills participated in the event. In a close battle for the Team Championship and Bronze Hammer trophy, Pleasant River Pine’s Sanford, Maine mill took the top honor in a one-point win over the next three team competitors from Hancock Lumber Co.’s Pittsfield mill, Hancock Lumber’s Bethel mill, and Madison Lumber. Limington Lumber rounded out the Top 5. The individual grader championship winner had to successfully make his way through three rounds of grading selected boards of various grades and sizes to emerge as the overall winner. Taking 1st place was Devon Dunnels of DiPrizio Pine Sales with a score of 15 out of 20. Following closely in 2nd was veteran grader Rick Johnston of Pleasant River Lumber’s Han-
cock Mill. Bill Badger of Hancock Lumber Co.’s Pittsfield Mill finished in 3rd place. Rounding out the Top 5: Chris Joy of DiPrizio Pine Sales and Paul Angelone of host mill, Madison Lumber Mill. The event included a hearty barbeque lunch for participants and NELMA inspection staff.
FS Rules Address Conditions, Service U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Forest Service will publish proposed changes to two regulations to implement new authorities the Forest Service received through the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018— also known as the 2018 Farm Bill—and the 2018 Consolidated Appropriations Act. The legislation gives the USDA Forest Service direction and new tools to improve forest conditions, services and safety on and around national forests and grasslands. The Forest Service is proposing several regulatory changes to use these new tools and authorities. The proposed regulations will be open for public comment for 60 days following their publication in the Federal Register.
The proposed changes include: The proposed rule regarding Vegetation Management in Utility Corridors would establish options and incentives for more effective and collaborative vegetation management between the Forest Service and utilities. These utilities operate more than 3,000 transmission lines in and around national forests and grasslands. Management focus would be to remove dead and dying trees that threaten these transmission lines and power structures. Removing these hazards would reduce fire risk as well as increase the reliability of energy delivered to more than 70 million American homes. The proposed rule regarding Communication Sites Management aims to expedite application processes for individuals and companies that want to build communication sites on national forests and grasslands. These changes would help connect rural communities as well as improve customer service to those applying for and operating under special use permits for communication sites. Communication sites on national forests and grasslands supports more than 10,000 wireless uses. TIMBER PROCESSING
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MAINEVENTS NOVEMBER
MAY 2020
6-8—Forestry Association of South Carolina annual meeting, Wild Dunes, Isle of Palms, SC. Call 803-798-4170; visit scforestry.org.
1-2—Expo Richmond 2020, Richmond Raceway Complex, Richmond, Va. Call 804-737-5625; visit exporichmond.com.
7-8—Mid-America Lumbermens Assn. Fall Conference, Kansas City, Mo. Call 800-747-6529; visit themla.com. 15—American Lumber Standard Committee annual meeting, Charleston, SC. Call 301-972-1700; visit alsc.org.
12-15—Southeastern Dry Kiln Club annual meeting, NC State University, Raleigh, NC. Call 919-515-5581; visit research.cnr.ncsu.edu/blogs/wpe/southeastern-dry-kiln-club-2. Listings are submitted months in advance. Always verify dates and locations with contacts prior to making plans to attend.
A
DECEMBER 3-6—Woodex, 16th International Exhibition of Equipment and Technologies for Woodworking and Furniture Production, Crocus Expo, Moscow, Russia. Visit woodexpo.ru/en-GB/.
FEBRUARY 2020 4-5—Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen’s Assn. Convention & Exposition, Indianapolis Marriott Downtown, Indianapolis, Ind. Call 317-288-0008; visit ihla.org. 19-23—Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers annual meeting, Naples Grand Beach Resort, Naples, Fla. Call 336-8858315; visit appalachianhardwood.org. 27-March 2—IndiaWood 2020, Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, Bangalore, India. Call +91-80-4250 5000; visit indiawood.com.
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12-13—Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE), Omni Hotel at CNN Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 334-834-1170; visit pelice-expo.com. 16-18—Dubai Woodshow, Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Call +971 4 39 23232; visit dubaiwoodshow.com. 25-27—Hardwood Manufacturers Assn. 2019 National Conference & Expo, JW Marriott, Nashville, Tenn. Call 412-244-0440; visit hmamembers.org.
APRIL 2020 1-3—International Wood Products Assn. annual meeting, Hyatt Regency, Savannah, Ga. Call 703-820-6696; visit iwpawood.org. 7-9—Kentucky Forest Industries Assn. annual meeting, Brown Hotel, Louisville, Ky. Call 502-695-3979; visit kfia.org. 26-28—American Wood Protection Assn. annual meeting, Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe, Incline Village, Nev. Call 205733-4077; visit awpa.com. 54
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ADVERTISER
PG.NO.
PH.NO.
American Wood Dryers
28
503.655.1955
BID Group of Companies
2, 40
843.563.7070
Brunner Hildebrand
39
615.469.0745
Calibre Equipment
35
+64 21 586 453
Carbotech International
11
800.387.6317
Cone Omega
15
229.228.9213
Esterer Wd GmbH
49
+49 86 71 5 03 0
G F Smith
34
971.865.2981
Holtec USA
3
800.346.5832
Industrial Equipment Manufacturing
51
780.505.1584
Johnson & Pace
50
903.753.0663
Lignomat USA
38
800.227.2105
45
936.676.4958
40, 48
250.561.1181
Lucidyne Technologies
19
541.753.5111
McDonough Manufacturing
26
715.834.7755
Mebor
47
+386 4 510 3200
Metal Detectors
43
541.345.7454
Microtec SLR GMBH
27
+39 0 472 273 611
Mid-South Engineering
48
501.321.2276
Muhlbock Holztrocknungsanlagen
10
+43 7753 2296 0
Linden Fabricating
10-11—Wood Bioenergy Conference & Expo, Omni Hotel at CNN Center, Atlanta, Ga. Call 334-834-1170; visit bioenergyshow.com.
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This issue of Timber Processing is brought to you in part by the following companies, which will gladly supply additional information about their products.
Linck
MARCH 2020
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Nelson Bros Engineering
36
888.623.2882
Nyle Systems
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Oleson Saw Technology
21
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Pantron Automation
16
800.211.9468
Precision-Husky
55
205.640.5181
Samuel Packaging Systems Group
18, 42
800.323.4424
8
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Sennebogen
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704.347.4910
Sering Sawmill Machinery
44
360.687.2667
Serra Maschinenbau Gmbh
40
+49 8051 96 40 00
SII Dry Kilns
33
800.545.6379
Smithco Manufacturing
44
800.764.8456
Telco Sensors
56
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7, 46
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Saw Control Systems
USNR Valutec
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Wood-Mizer
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ADLINK is a free service for advertisers and readers. The publisher assumes no liability for errors or omissions.
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